Subendothelium in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)

The ultrastructure of the subendothelium of elastic arteries in spontaneously hypertensive rats shows either thickening and cords of basement membrane-like material (carotid artery) or plates of condensed material of probably filamentous origin (aorta) suggesting that there might be two stages of the same process. The inner elastic lamina disrupts. The resulting changes in resistance might play a role in the maintenance of hypertension in genetically determined rats.